In this week’s architecture and design video round-up (above), you’re invited to settle in at Prior cafe, a chic neighbourhood eatery in the Melbourne suburb of Thornbury designed by local architects Ritz and Ghougassian.
Spanish creative consultancy and interior design firm Masquespacio welcomes guests inside the bar and restaurant of La Sastrería where the deft use of tiles provides the spaces with two very different schemes. The Living Coral Biobank by Contreras Earl Architecture is set to spearhead a global rescue mission in Port Douglas, Queensland.
And finally this week, luxury automobile manufacturer Aston Martin has collaborated with architect Sir David Adjaye on five premium apartments in New York’s 130 William building.
For more information on each of these stories, see below.
- Prior Thornbury: Melbourne architecture practice Ritz & Ghougassian curated clean-lined fixtures and fittings beneath soaring white-painted cathedral ceilings at the Prior cafe in Thornbury. Read more.
- The Living Coral Biobank: Designed by Contreras Earl Architecture, the world’s first “coral ark” – a conservation facility that would safely store 800 species of coral – is planned for Port Douglas in Queensland. Read more.
- La Sastrería bar: Created by local Spanish firm Masquespacio, the bar displays a patchwork of high-octane patterns produced with tiles that reinterpret the facades of neighbouring buildings. Read more.
- La Sastrería restaurant: Designers Masquespacio responded to the restaurant’s menu of ocean-focussed fare by creating a “huge wave” sculpture, culminating in a showpiece made of suspended ceramic objects. Read more.
- 130 William x Aston Martin: Aston Martin and architect Sir David Adjaye have collaborated on five luxurious homes at the 130 William building in New York, each packaged up with an equally exclusive Aston Martin SUV. Read more.
Pull up a pew at the bar at La Sastrería by Masquespacio and place yourself in the penthouse of 130 William in New York.
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Facing the tramline on High Street in Thornbury, Prior is a chic neighbourhood cafe that opened its doors to the inner Melbourne suburb in early 2020. Observing the eatery from the street, the building – a former print shop – is crowned by typically Art Deco detailing. Dramatic black windows frame the entrance of the 130-seat cafe. An equally theatrical awning is emblazoned with the single word ‘Prior’, positioned front and centre as if to indicate its strength as a headline act in this neck of the woods.
Stepping inside the pared-back cafe, the generously proportioned interior space basks in another kind of light. One of typically Australian feel where the designers, local architecture firm Ritz & Ghougassian, calmly curated clean-lined fixtures and fittings beneath soaring white-painted cathedral ceilings. A leather banquette lines the perimeter wall opposite the open kitchen. The central fireplace is on standby, ready to warm the mitts of patrons during the depths of Melbourne winters.
The floor and the face of the bar-height dining counter are lined with a combination of whole and face bricks. A rustic-looking material chosen for its ties to the original construction of the building. Jean-Paul Ghougassian, director at Ritz & Ghougassian, says the bricks, laid in a stack bond arrangement, offer just the right amount of warming colour plus a gentle textural quality. “As a studio, we try to reduce the number of colours used within a particular space in order to create a homogenous finality,” he says. “We wanted to bring a sense of exterior space to the interior. The brick breaks up the interior space much better than alternative materials such as concrete.”
Jean-Paul says the client’s brief was to create a vibrant, contemporary and welcoming neighbourhood cafe so the choice of brick was somewhat inevitable. “People often associate brick with Melbourne’s laneways, so I suppose our design was like tipping a hat to the city’s famous cafe culture.”
As a design studio, Ritz & Ghougassian has made a name for itself in Melbourne by creating several new cafes over recent years. One of the benefits of designing cafes – aside from the pleasure of seeing a project successfully completed – is the prospect of endless barista-made coffee from a grateful client, says Jean-Paul. “Unfortunately, we are based on the other side of the city from Prior,” he laughs. “But we do pop in for a coffee from time to time.”
ritzghougassian.com; priorthornbury.com.au
People often associate brick with Melbourne’s laneways, so I suppose our design was like tipping a hat to the city’s famous cafe culture.